Security of Warmth
by ddggrule
Summary: It's below frezzing, a blizzard rages, and Kurogane wears himself too thin with only Fai around to aid him... //KuroxFai, one-shot.


Kurogane couldn't remember a country that had been this cold.

A blanket of white stretched into the distance without end. Cloud cover lay low, shrouding everything atop the snowy vista in a thick fog, visibility worsened further by a perpetual dense snowfall -- there was no divide between earth and sky. Breathing was unpleasent, the air dry and frozen, and it had only been minutes after their arrival before Kurogane's lungs began to ache. Furthermore, he judged, it was past midday; it would only start getting colder from this point on. If there was life of any kind in this harsh environment, it would be scarce.

"Samuiiii!!!"

The ninja's thoughts were disrupted, as ever, by the blonde idiot.

"It's so cold," complained a shiverring Fay. From what Kurogane could make-out through the fog, the mage was rubbing his arms together frantically in a feeble attempt to keep warm. "Why would one of Sakura-chan's feathers be in such a bleak place, Kuro-tan?"

"The feather's didn't choose where they were sent to," Kurogane stated, ignoring the hideous nickname. "There could be feathers in worlds far worse than this."

He could sense the disbelief in Fay's tone. "Mokona, tell me Big Doggy is wrong!"

Kurogane snapped, fists clenched and held up. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING "BIG DOGGY"!? HOW'D YOU LIKE THE HILT OF MY SWORD SLAMMED ACROSS YOUR - !?" He paused, unable to hear the sickeningly happy tones of the meat bun chime in with Fay's delight at his angry self. He raised his voice, "Oi, manjuu, pick up the pace."

No response.

"Whaa~" Fay gasped, "We appear to have lost Moko-chan!"

Kurogane grunted. "The kid and the princess are also missing."

Instinctively, he moved to grab Fay's arm and lock it in his own. Before Fay could make any dodgy comment, he pointed out "We can't see more than two feet ahead in this weather. If we've lost the Princess and the others (or that stupid white thing dropped us off in seperate places again), we need to stick together so we ourselves don't get lost."

Fay hid his disappointment at not being able to poke fun. "What's the plan?"

Kurogane closed his eyes in thought. "It's getting dark, and even colder. If we try and find the others at night, we'll freeze to death. Our top priority should be seeking out some form of shelter."

The mage, face now serious, nodded in agreement. "We can begin our search tomorrow. With any luck, the weather wont be so unforgiving, ne?"

Kurogane opened an eye and stared down at the blonde. "There's no such thing as luck."

Fay's face remained serious for a moment, thinking, before a massive grin plastered itself there. "Kuro-pon is so wise and cool!"

Kurogane twitched. "What did I say about using those names!?"

***************************************************************

Two hours in, their search had yielded no results. There seemed to be no end to the barren wintery terrain, and the land had no contours, making it impossible for Kurogane to distinguish between places they had been and the place they were currently. The light that shone through the dense fog was fast disappearing also and, as a result, so did any form of potential bearing.

To top this all off, the cold was becoming extreme.

Kurogane could no longer tell if he had any arms or legs, all feeling numbed. Moving had become much more laborious than he'd ever thought possible, and simply breathing was even beginning to strain him. He could feel his want of sleep rising, eyes heavy and body tired.

Looking to his left, he noticed that Fay betrayed no signs of growing weary. Arms still linked, they appeared a complete contrast: he, clad in tight black, trudging through countless feet of snow, willing to drop down in a deep sleep from exhaustion; the mage, donning a flowing white robe, almost gliding through the snow, seemingly content in his location.

"You," Kurogane began, before inhaling a little more of the coarse air, "you were the one complaining when we arrived," he pointed out. "And...and now," he coughed harshly," now you appear completely at ease!"

Fay had looked up at him when he'd coughed, and the concern in his eyes made Kurogane uneasy. "Kuro-sama forgets I come from a cold country," Fay replied, before looking away, an unreadable expression on his face. "A very cold country." His eyes moved back to Kurogane, now apologetic. "But I myself forget that you do not."

Kurogane waved his free arm at Fay, forehead creased with effort. "I-It's nothing I can't handle." His body was shaking vigorously now. "We just gotta keep mov - "

Fay felt himself pulled towards the ground as Kurogane tripped on something, still clinging to the mage. The blonde was quick to attention, noticing a fresh gash on one of Kurogane's legs, and as he moved to examine the wound, his hand registered the severe lack of heat eminating from the black-haired man's body.

Grunting, Kurogane tried to upright himself and found he couldn't. "Why can't I...?" he thought, before noticing too the large cut he'd received down his leg. He hadn't known it was there. He couldn't even feel it.

His head spun, and his mind felt weak. His eyelids weighed a tonne, and darkness creeped into the periphery of his vision. He thought maybe someone was stroking his forehead, maybe lifting him up, but all he could recall before blacking out were Fay's blue eyes bearing down on him, and four simple words:

"Hold on, Kurogane. Please."

***************************************************************

As one who spent forever running away, be it from his past or otherwise, Fay was at a loss to explain his feelings for Kurogane and his desire to stay with him. While he would never tell the ninja to his face, he enjoyed it when, every now and again, Mokona managed to make a mistake in their travels and land the two together, alone. It seemed like they could spend forever and a day not talking to each other, having the unsettling ability in being able to detect even the slightest change in the other's expression, movement or train of thought. They knew what the other was thinking, always, rendering spoken words unnecessary, and Fay found this unusually comforting.

He sat beside an unconcious Kurogane, running his fingers through the ninja's dark silky hair, smiling at the peaceful expression on the man's face. He'd been out for a full two days now, the first of which Fay had spent trying desperately to keep Kurogane comfortable (nothing all that easy considering their circumstances).

His luck had been refreshingly good of late -- only moments after Kurogane's collapse had the mage chanced across a small rocky outcrop, cave inclusive, into which he'd dragged him. Worry at a near all-time high, he'd placed Kurogane as far back within the cave as possible, ripping off a part of his cloak as a makeshift bandage for the wounded leg, and then pressing his own body up against the ninja's to keep him warm; there he had remained for the best part of the last two days, lapsing in and out of sleep the whole while.

Safe is something he hadn't felt since leaving Celes. Encircled by Kurogane's arms, however....

***************************************************************

Stirring, Kurogane could hear the howling of the wind.

He didn't feel cold, though.

Eyes adjusting to his surroundings, he registered his being in a cave of some sort, not very big by any means, but well-sheltered from the snowstorm outside. Body beginning to respond, he noted the now-present feeling in his arms and legs, warm blood pumping through them, and that he was sat upright against cave wall. He still felt exhausted to some degree, but at least the shiverring was gone.

Had he been more awake and alert, he would have probably jumped up out of shock. Although, as it was, he instead felt his cheeks flush a crimson colour as he gazed down to see Fay pressed-up against him, sleeping. What made it worse was that his own arms were wrapped around the dozing blonde! Had Fay put them there himself as one of his warped little games? Or had Kurogane himself instinctively embraced him in his sleep?

...Definitely the first one, he thought. Definitely.

"Kurogane-san!"

The sound of Sakura's voice pierced through the howling of the wind, startling Kurogane. "Thank goodness," she continued, relieved, "we found you." She smiled one of her radiant smiles, before noticing the mage asleep in his lap. She gasped, and Kurogane looked thoroughly embarassed, trying only to imagine what must be going through the Princess' mind right now...

"...Is Fay-san hurt?"

Kurogane's jaw just dropped. She really did have an innocent mind. "No, no," he began, coughing gently. "...He was just worn out by the cold."

"Oh," Sakura replied, looking sweetly at the mage. "Fay-san must have been working really hard!"

Kurogane smiled weakly, grunting in agreement. "Princess, would you mind," he nodded at the cave entrance, "while I wake him up?"

Sakura blinked. "No, of course not! I'll just wait outside with Syaoran-kun and Moko-chan. But don't be too long, ne? It's very cold..."

Kurogane nodded. "I'll be brief."

Following Sakura's absence, the ninja shook Fay a little. "Hey, mage, wake up."

Fay's eyes opened as he stirred, and one of his hands clenched tightly the material of Kurogane's shirt. "Not now. Let me stay with Kuro-sama a little longer..."

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Baka! The kid and the Princess found us. We need to get going."

"Hyuu~!" He rubbed his eyes. "I went through so much trouble, and all Kuro-ni wants to do is leave! He isn't even grateful."

Kurogane looked genuinely hurt for a moment. "Of course I am, idiot."

Fay looked up, pouting. "I don't believe you."

His eyed widened significantly, however, when Kurogane, to prove his point, took his face into had hands and kissed him softly on the lips. A moment passed when they pulled away, staring at each other. "Do you believe me now?"

Fays mouth suddenly spread into one of his playful grins. "I was only joking," he whispered, and with that the mage got up and headed for the cave entrance, beaming triumphantly.

Kurogane followed shortly behind him, a smirk of his own on his lips.

_I know you were._


End file.
